On-Demand Content

On-demand content may be added through one of the following methods:

• Manually through the VOD Uploader
• Manually through the Slicer
• Automatically through Slicebot

The Slicer processes on-demand content and sends it to the cloud for encoding, while Slicebot automates this process by monitoring a directory for new files.

The Slicer installation includes Slicebot.

Installing the Slicer and Slicebot

Perform the following steps before installing the Slicer/Slicebot:

1. Verify that the desired computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements.

   View minimum and certified hardware/software specifications.

   Minimum System Requirements

   The minimum system requirements for the computer hosting the Slicer are provided below.

   Requirement	Description
   OS	Windows or macOS
   Ports	Outbound connections on 80 and 443
   Format	The Slicer is compatible with standard audio/video file formats (e.g., mov, mpeg/mpg, avi, m4v, and mkv). Learn more.
   Upload Bandwidth	Your upload bandwidth should exceed the bandwidth generated for the top rayA stream with a specific quality configuration based on set bit rate and resolution targets. Each ray is divided into slices. by 25%. Your top ray's resolution and frames per second (FPS) varies by encoding profile. For example, the default encoding profile (i.e., HD 720p25/30) requires 5 Megabits per second (Mbps). Insufficient bandwidth may prevent your on-demand content from being uploaded.

   Certified Hardware/Software Specification

   The Slicer has been certified for use with the following specification:

   Type	Requirement
   Server	Dell R740 or Dell R640
   CPU	Intel 4110
   RAM	96 GB or more
   Storage	2x Micron 5100 960GB SSD
   NIC	Intel Ethernet Converged Network Adapter X520 - Dual-Port 10 Gigabit
   Maximum Concurrent Sessions	10
   OS	Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
   Kernel	4.15
   Bios	1.6.11
   GPU	Nvidia T4 (Driver Version: 384.130)

2. Configure your firewall to allow outbound connections on ports 80 and 443.

   The Slicer relies on ports 80 and 443 to communicate with our services and to upload encrypted slices for encoding.

3. Verify that the system time on the computer hosting the Slicer is accurate.

To install or upgrade a Slicer / Slicebot

Download the Slicer by clicking Downloads from the bottom right-hand corner of the CMS and then clicking either Mac Slicer or Windows Slicer.

Perform one of the following steps:

• Windows: Extract the zip file to the desired directory.

  Add a shortcut to the task bar or the Start menu by right-clicking on SlicerWPF.exe and then selecting either Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu.

• macOS: Unzip the archive to the desired folder and then move the Slicer application to the Applications folder.

  Unzip the Slicer package by either double-clicking it or running unzip from the command line.

Loading the Slicer

Load the Slicer by performing one of the following:

• Windows: If it was pinned to either the taskbar or the Start menu, simply click on the Slicer icon. Otherwise, double-click the executable from the location to which it was extracted.

• macOS: Double-click it from the Applications folder.

  If the Slicer application cannot be opened as a result of a security configuration, try opening it while holding down the Control key.

Authentication

Upon loading the Slicer, it will prompt for CMS credentials. It will use these credentials to communicate with our services and to upload content.

More Information

• Streaming On-Demand Content Tutorial
• Adding On-Demand Content
• Media Player Setup